Page 52 of Onyx Realm

Markos tore open the driver’s side door with a fury that matched my own emotions. His anger was molten and terrifying, simmering with an intensity that turned to rage on his scarred face. It was enough to silence any further laughter.

Ignoring the men, I turned toward the window, trying to work through my disillusionment and considering my options. How did I leave? Should I just disappear? Did I have the strength to slip away from them, or was my resolve as useless as my heart was? My body sagged against the door as the realization of what that kiss meant suffocated me.

“The money,” Markos finally grumbled after a long, uncomfortable silence, his voice low and gravelly and filled with accusation. He didn’t look at me, but I felt the pressure of his demand.

I moved a protective hand over my pocket, defiant. “I earned it, and I’m giving it to Evangelia. It’s the least I can do since we pillaged her closet.”

The words came out more bitter than I intended. I hadn’t realized until that moment that it mattered to me. It shouldn’t have. I should have hardened myself to it.

Markos’s mouth twitched, and I could almost hear the internal argument raging. He wanted to fight me on this, to have one more chance to exert control. But beneath that, I sensed a reluctance that came from a place he wouldn’t dare admit existed. He dropped it. Instead, he put his hands on the wheel and clenched it with knuckles so white they looked like they’d shatter. The unnamed man in the back shifted uncomfortably, keeping silent while Markos’s stormy emotions filled the van.

I swallowed hard. I wouldn’t give Markos the satisfaction of knowing how much his silence crushed me. Was this really goodbye? Could I do this? Was it truly over, and if it was, could I live without knowing where this thing could go? This was the first time in my life Ifeltsomething. And as we drove, the option to stay faded away.

But the alternative was far worse. If I stayed, if Markos kept this distance, it might break me.

Chapter 17 – Markos

I was never one for monkey suits. I preferred loose linen pants if I had to wear clothing, otherwise I was diving into the ocean in nothing but a Speedo or the skin the Good Lord gave me. But it was hard to argue that the expensive, perfectly tailored suit didn’t look damn good on me. So long as the dim lighting concealed what I truly was. Black on black, it helped me blend into the backdrop of the bustling club.

It was my turn to take the weekend shift here. Just because we ran a profitable import ring and had an equally successful fishing front didn’t mean our assets weren’t diversified. We built this place to wash our ill-gotten gains.

But Delphi was popular in its own right. The exclusive club beckoned the wealthy of Tampa Bay to spend their evenings relaxing on pillows, sipping exotic drinks, or dancing under the faux star ceiling. Influencers raved about the Ionic Columns carved from real marble as they ate their overpriced finger food and small bites boards. They said they felt like they really were in another world.

At exactly nine o’clock, Iosif stepped through the door with a deep scowl etched in his face. Sending a quick glance around the room, he locked eyes with me. I flashed him a smirk. The poor thing, having to escort his baby sis and her new friend to the club. It was good for him to be away from the mourning and sorrow.

When Iosif first mentioned how Evangelia wanted to come here with Serena, he thought there was no way in hell I would say yes. But it was the way he’d phrased it, the way he’d assumed he knew my mind. I had to prove that he knew nothing. He wasn’t in control.

I was.

I inched from my post to peer around the edge to better see the entrance. Arms linked like schoolgirls, Evangelia and Serena walked through the door. My heart stopped short and then restarted with a wild, frantic rhythm.

Serena wore a fitted white dress that hugged her figure, its black ribbon details delicately tracing the curve of her waist. The fabric shimmered faintly under the light, and the contrast of the ribbons against the pristine white made her stand out like a striking silhouette. As she walked into the room, heads turned, and whispers of admiration followed in her wake, as if she’d descended from an immortal realm.

A goddess, visiting earth to torment the children of man.

I gripped my throat and moaned.

Not only was she sin incarnate, walking like a fruit that was ready to be plucked and devoured, but shebelonged. It didn’t matter who she was. The Fates sent her to me, and my determination to keep her grew daily.

Granted, her presence was a contradiction to my earlier resolve. I wanted the power of being bound to a wealthy, connected criminal family. The bratva princess was still available for the taking. The only thing stopping me was my own inaction. Excuse after excuse came to my mind. Finding the culprits responsible for my cousin’s murder, the never-ending work being one of the Twelve, this club, the dangerous shipping ventures, and the day-to-day work in the village. I let it all distract me when the truth was so very simple.

I didn’t want the Russian heiress. She didn’t belong in my bed.

There was already a woman there.And I would very much like to join her.

I rubbed my jaw. The ridges and dents of the mottled flesh itched with a vicious reminder of what manner of creature Iappeared to be. She called me monster jokingly? She wasn’t wrong. I was a gnarled creature from the deep.

But...Serena hadn’t run from me. She might be able to tolerate being shackled to a hideous beast. And I would treat her as the goddess she was. Which was far more than I could have dreamed of when selecting a woman to share my life with.

The only thing stopping me was that she brought nothing beside herself to the union. In the game of power and strategy, I needed a bride who elevated me.Did that make me selfish? Admittedly. Was I a rotten bastard to pass on the beauty because she was a nobody? Definitely, especially by modern standards.

But fuck culture. A bride had to raise my status. Period. And Serena, while she probably came from wealth, didn’t have access to it. If she had any sway in the realm of legal businesses and connections to the movers and shakers of society, I had yet to find a way to manipulate that to our advantage.

“We’re booked solid all weekend,” Iosif mused, flipping through the tablet in his hand as he came to stand by me. “Should be a tidy little profit.”

“What are they drinking?” I asked.

My cousin glanced up with a bewildered look. He followed my gaze to his sister and the little mystery. “Um, some chick crap.”

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